With two incidents in a month of Indian fishermen being attacked after venturing into Pakistani waters, the Indian Coast Guard has issued a fresh advisory to the Gujarat government asking it to warn them not to stray into the “no-fishing” zone.

The advisory comes against the backdrop of a 40-year-old fisherman venturing 10 nautical miles into the Pakistani waters and being shot dead on September 18. On October 15, another fisherman was injured when his boat was in Pakistani waters. The injured fisherman, identified as Dhanji Bamaniya, was let off on humanitarian grounds along with five others who sailed back to Jakhau coast. Pakistan’s Maritime Security Agency (MSA) also arrested 24 fishermen the same day.

Authorities have now warned the fishermen against not only crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL), but also not to fish in “no-fishing” zone, failing which their documents would be forfeited.

“We have informed the Fisheries Department of Gujarat government about this. On our part we can only seize their documents and hand it over to the state authorities,” a Coast Guard official said.

There have been several instances of Indian fishermen venturing into Pakistani maritime boundary and vice-versa. As per the figures till October 20, some 790 fishing boats have been seized by Pakistan’s MSA. This year alone, around 205 fishermen were arrested and 35 boats serized by the MSA for venturing into Pakistani waters.

An Indian delegation will visit Pakistan to inspect 22 Indian boats seized by the neighbouring country and discuss modalities for their release. Coast Guard sources said Pakistani authorities keep releasing fishermen, but not the boats.

The delegation will comprise two representatives of boat owners, two mechanics, an official of Gujarat fisheries department and a member from state fishermen’s association. Some repairs will be required before the 22 boats can be brought back to Gujarat.

The BSF has seized an abandoned Pakistani fishing boat near Sir Creek area of Kutch district in Gujarat.

The boat was found lying unattended on Sunday morning during patrolling in the area. Officials believe that its occupants might have fled in other boats, a Gujarat BSF statement said.

The boat has been seized but nothing suspicious found on it yet. Further probe is on, it added.

This is the third such incident of capturing of Pakistani boats in the creek area in as many months. In December, a Pakistani fishing boat was found at Padala creek near Koteshwar. In November, two fishing boats were seized from Harami Nala area near the border.

The Coast Guard officers who intercepted the suspicious Pakistani boat on the night of December 31, 2014, were handed over the President’s medal Thursday by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar. Commandants Chandra Shekhar Joshi and Abhay Ambetkar were awarded the Tatrakshak Gallantry medal.

The citations on the awards reiterated the government’s version that the crew set the boat on fire.

“The boat was unlit and expressed hostile intent by trying to evade and taking advantage of the dark hours and weather. Despite repeated calls on VHF Channel 16, loud hailer and indication by search light, the crew of the suspected boat was defiant and refused to surrender. However, persistent efforts by the Officer and his team led to successful interception of the suspect boat…The crew set the suspect boat on fire. Subsequently, the boat was engulfed in massive fire following an explosion. The boat finally sank at about 0633 hours on Jan 1, 2015. Thereafter the ship assumed extensive search operations for locating survivors,” Joshi’s citation read.

Joshi was commanding ICGS Rajratan on the night of December 31, 2014, and intersected the boat along the International Maritime Boundary Line. Ambetkar, on the other hand, coordinated the air to surface operations that led to spotting of the boat.

“The Coast Guard ship warned the fishing boat to stop for further investigation… however, the boat increased speed and tried to escape… The hot pursuit continued for nearly one hour and the Coast Guard ship managed to stop the fishing boat after firing warning shots. Four persons were seen on the boat who disregarded all warnings by the Coast Guard ship to stop and cooperate… Soon thereafter, the crew hid themselves in below deck compartment and set the boat on fire,” the official statement from the government on January 2, 2015 had said, citing that the boat was “planning some illicit transaction in Arabian Sea”.

The Coast Guard officers who intercepted the suspicious Pakistani boat on the night of December 31, 2014, were handed over the President’s medal Thursday by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar. Commandants Chandra Shekhar Joshi and Abhay Ambetkar were awarded the Tatrakshak Gallantry medal.

The citations on the awards reiterated the government’s version that the crew set the boat on fire.

“The boat was unlit and expressed hostile intent by trying to evade and taking advantage of the dark hours and weather. Despite repeated calls on VHF Channel 16, loud hailer and indication by search light, the crew of the suspected boat was defiant and refused to surrender. However, persistent efforts by the Officer and his team led to successful interception of the suspect boat…The crew set the suspect boat on fire. Subsequently, the boat was engulfed in massive fire following an explosion. The boat finally sank at about 0633 hours on Jan 1, 2015. Thereafter the ship assumed extensive search operations for locating survivors,” Joshi’s citation read.

Joshi was commanding ICGS Rajratan on the night of December 31, 2014, and intersected the boat along the International Maritime Boundary Line. Ambetkar, on the other hand, coordinated the air to surface operations that led to spotting of the boat.

“The Coast Guard ship warned the fishing boat to stop for further investigation… however, the boat increased speed and tried to escape… The hot pursuit continued for nearly one hour and the Coast Guard ship managed to stop the fishing boat after firing warning shots. Four persons were seen on the boat who disregarded all warnings by the Coast Guard ship to stop and cooperate… Soon thereafter, the crew hid themselves in below deck compartment and set the boat on fire,” the official statement from the government on January 2, 2015 had said, citing that the boat was “planning some illicit transaction in Arabian Sea”.

In second such incident within a week, 18 fishermen on board, three fishing trawlers of Gujarat were abducted by Pakistan Marine Security Agency (PMSA) while they were operating near the notional International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) of India and Pakistan in the Arabian sea off Jkhau coast in Kutch on Thursday.

“Initially, we had reports that two fishing boats with 12 fishermen on board were detained by PMSA while they were operating near the IMBL. But now we have confirmation that three boats and 18 fishermen have been abducted. Two of the abducted boats are registered at Porbandar port while the third belongs to Okha port,” Manish Lodhari, secretary of Gujarat chapter of National Fish Workers Forum told The Indian Express.

Lodhari said that the incident took place between 11 am and 12 pm on Thursday. “We are not certain as yet if the seized boats had crossed the IMBL or they were detained while they were operating towards the Indian side of the IMBL,” he said.

This is second such incident within a week. On February 19, PMSA had abducted 16 Indian fishing trawlers along with 88 fishermen aboard for allegedly violating Pakistan waters. This incident was preceded by seizure of two Indian boats and 12 fishermen from the Arabian sea.

India and Pakistan have dispute over their waterfront at the Arabian sea. Despite repeated warnings from security agencies like Indian Coast Guard and fisheries department of Gujarat government, fishermen continue exploring the troubled waters and getting caught by the Pakistani security angeicies year after year.

“Around 60 boats have been seized by PMSA this fishing season alone. This is worrisome as fishermen who are caught are usually breadwinners of their families. The frequency of such incidents this month has been alarming,” Lodhari added.

The fishermen leader further said that there could be multiple reasons for Indian fishermen getting caught. “It is possible that they are not getting good catch elsewhere and venture near the IMBL in hope of more. It is also possible that water current in the creek may be swaying their boats or sometimes the captain of trawlers might not be able to note their GPS position and inadvertently wade into Pakistani waters,” Lodhari said.

According to fishermen leaders, more than 400 Indian fishermen are languishing in Pakistani jails and more than 600 fishing trawlers are in the custody of our western neighbours

The attackers were former Pakistan Navy officers-turned-jihadists who were attempting to hijack a missile frigate to stage an attack on a US aircraft carrier

The newly-formed Indian subcontinent division of transnational terror group al-Qaeda has claimed responsibility for Saturday night’s attack on a Naval dockyard in Karachi — the organisation’s first strike since its existence was made public last month. The attackers, the statement said, were former Pakistan Navy officers-turned-jihadists who were attempting to hijack a missile frigate to stage an attack on a United States aircraft carrier.

The claim was made in a statement released online on Thursday — the 13th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks — by Usama Mahmood, the spokesperson for Qaidat al-Jihad fi’Shibhi al-Qarrat al-Hindiya, or al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS).

Few details are available on the attack, in which a Pakistan Navy officer was reported killed along with two terrorists. Karachi police chief Ghulam Qadir Thebo told the media that the slain attackers included former Naval official Owais Jhakrani, the son of senior police officer Ali Sher Jhakrani. Pakistani media reports said the attackers succeeded in briefly seizing control of the Chinese-made F22P-type frigate, the Zulfiqar.

Mahmood’s statement — in Urdu — says, “The Naval officers who were martyred on Saturday in the attack in Karachi were al-Qaeda members. They were trying to attack American marines and their cronies”. Following training at an al-Qaeda camp, the men were tasked with hijacking the missiles through which they were to attack an American carrier, says the note.

“They had taken over control of the ship and were proceeding to attack the American carrier when they were intercepted by the Pakistan military,” the statement says. “These men thus became martyrs. The Pakistani military men who died defending enemies of the Muslim nation, on the other hand, are cursed with hell”.

In a brief statement which did not describe the circumstances of the attack, the Pakistan Navy said four attackers had been arrested, leading to raids by “intelligence agencies which led to arrest of other collaborators and accomplices from different parts of the country.” Karachi-based newspapers have reported that those arrested included two Naval officers, but there has been no official confirmation.

Mahmood’s statement promises that al-Qaeda will soon released the videotaped last testaments of the attackers — a longstanding practice of the organisation. The release of the videotapes could enhance the credibility of the claim, which comes in the wake of similar but less-detailed statements by two rival factions of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan — both, however, with links to al-Qaeda.

In March 2011, Tehreek-e-Taliban and al-Qaeda cadre had stormed the PNS Mehran airbase near Karachi, destroying military assets including P-3C Orion aircraft valued at $35 million, and killing 15 military personnel. Muhammad Aqeel, one of the terrorists captured during the strike, was a former Pakistan Army nurse, while three Naval officers were court-martialled for aiding the attack.

Brigadier Ali Khan, serving at the military headquarters in Rawalpindi, was held in connection with a 2009 terrorist attack on the Pakistan Army’s headquarters in Rawalpindi, while three Air Force personnel were held after investigations into the 2012 strike on a Pakistan Air Force base at Kamra.

Any concrete info on the 10 somnath attackers? 3 of them have been killed.

There must be a sea component to this terrorist plan

Click to expand...

Pakistan NSA had shared intel with Ajit Doval on possible terrorist infiltration; 3 of the 10 terrorists were "neutralised" three days ago.
A top Home Ministry official, on Tuesday, said that National Security Advisor of Pakistan Naseer Khan Janjua's inputs over infiltration of terrorist were correct.

He said that 3 of the ten terrorists were "neutralised" three days ago.

Plan to attack Somnath temple

The official said that they were not in a position to share any further information about the three killed terrorists as verification process was still on. He also said that the terrorists planned to strike the famous Somnath temple on the coast of Gujarat, ahead of Maha Shivratri celebrations last week.

"There are seven more, whom we have to track. The terrorists could belong to a third country as well," said the official.

Multiple security agencies have ruled out any terrorist link to eight abandoned boats recovered off the Gujarat coast in five months and triggering a major security scare after a tip-off by Pakistan this month, a top police official said on Saturday.

On March 5, a day after the eighth boat was found near Koteshwar in Kutch district, Pakistan’s national security adviser Naseer Janjua said 10 terrorists have sneaked into India, leading to a multi-city alert and nationwide manhunt.

Investigations by several agencies including Gujarat police, Intelligence Bureau, Border Security Force (BSF) and Customs found that the boats belonged to Pakistani fishermen who fled for fear of being caught.

Hundreds of fishermen from both countries are arrested every year for violating maritime boundary after they veer off course, sometimes intentionally, in search of a better catch.

“No trace of anything indicating that these boats could have been used by terrorists or for terror activities was found,” said Gujarat police’s border range inspector general AK Jadeja.

“The agencies have come to the conclusion that the boats were abandoned by Pakistani fishermen fearing arrest by Indian security agencies.”

Pakistan-based terrorists had used a fishing boat to sneak in Mumbai in 2008 to launch one of the most brazen attacks on Indian soil, killing 160 people and injuring scores.

The security alert by Islamabad came weeks after terrorists believed to be from the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed attacked an airforce base in Pathankot , leaving seven Indian security personnel dead. Six terrorists were also killed during the siege.

The police official said the investigations have even ruled out drug smuggling from the seized boats.

“All the boats were carrying almost similar things like fishing nets, blankets, food and, in a couple of cases, fish. Nothing indicated that these boats could have been used for anything other than fishing,” said Jadeja.

He added that most of the seized boats – 20-feet-long on an average – were in bad shape, indicating that the fishermen were “probably prepared to leave the vessels behind, if required”. The boats are in the custody of customs department in Kutch.

IB sources said most of the times boats come drifting to the shores from the several creeks, tidal water channels that flows out into the sea, that dot the coastline.

A BSF official said that the fishermen are often alerted by the sound of patrolling speedboats.

“The noise helps Pakistani fishermen to spot us and flee. If the water level (in the creeks) is high then they swim towards Pakistan till they find some boats in their waters.”

The has seized two engine fitted Pakistani wooden boats which entered the Indian territory along the international border near Harami Nala in Kutch district of Gujarat.

The patrolling party of the BSF yesterday evening seized the boats, when they went for the area domination of Harami Nala. The fishermen who were present in the boats, however, ran away into the Pakistani territory.

The BSF has also seized four plastic jerican having 30 litre capacity and other fishing items from the boat.

Published on 12 Aug 2016
Indian Navy has stepped up patrolling off the Mumbai coast following intelligence reports that attempts are being made in Pakistan to send arms and ammunition hidden in a merchant vessel.

Indian Coast Guard has apprehended a Pakistani boat with nine crew members from Arabian sea off Gujarat.

The coast guard ship Samudra Pavak apprehended the boat and its crew members at around 10:15 in the morning.

As per the preliminary inquiry, crew members are reportedly fishermen. The Coast Guard has taken the boat with crew to Porbandar for further probe.

“The preliminary information indicates the crew to be Pakistani fishermen. However, the boat and the crew member are being escorted to Porbandar for further rummaging/ joint investigation,” stated a release issued by the Defence PRO Wing Commander Abhishek Matiman.

BSF PRO, Shubhendu Bharadwaj said that a BSF speed boat patrolling in creel area noticed a wooden fishing boats in Indian waters near G-43 pillar. ``The Pakistani nationals are being questioned. Other than fishing related equipment nothing objectionable was found,'' he said.

On Tuesday, the BSF had spotted an empty Pakistani boat which appeared to have drifted accidentally in the Ravi river in Amritsar, Punjab. No suspicious material was found.

KARACHI: A judicial commission constituted by a Pakistani anti-terrorism court today examined a boat used by 10 LeT terrorists to reach India for carrying out the 2008 Mumbai attack and recorded the statement of an investigator.

"A Pakistani commission, comprising prosecution and defense lawyers, today inspected Al-Fauz boat (used by Mumbai attack terrorists) in port city of Karachi in the presence of a trial court judge," an official said.

He said the commission also recorded the statement of an official of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) who had collected evidence about Al-Fauz.

"The commission recorded the FIA official's statement and received evidence," the official said.

"There will be no further inspection of the boat as the commission will submit its report to the trial court on next hearing on October 19," he said.

The commission which is headed by anti-terrorism court (ATC) judge Sohail Ikram includes a civil judge, the defence lawyer and officials of the FIA. The commission will return tomorrow to Islamabad after completing its task.

The commission was constituted during a hearing into the Mumbai terror attack case by ATC-Islamabad, which held the hearing at the Adiala Jail Rawalpindi last month, and heard that the boat was used by the terrorists in the attacks in which 166 people were killed.

The ATC judge accepted the request by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to send a judicial commission to examine the boat as it was difficult to produce the vessel before the court.

Earlier, the Islamabad High Court had set aside the verdict of a trial court of not allowing to send a commission to Karachi, terming it "flawed and not in accordance with law" and allowed examination of the boat in the port city.

In May, the prosecution had challenged the trial court's decision to reject its plea to form a commission to examine the boat so that the vessel could be made a "case property".

According to the FIA, the attackers used three boats - including Al Fauz - to reach Mumbai from Karachi.

Al-Fauz is in the custody of Pakistani authorities in Karachi, from where 10 militants, armed with AK-47 assault rifles and hand grenades, had left for India to carry out the Mumbai attack.

A Federal Investigation Agency's report says along with the engine and the boat, a bank and a money exchange company were also traced which were used for the transaction of money.

10 LeT militants had left Karachi on the boat on November 23, 2008. En route to their destination, they hijacked another boat, killing four of its crew.

They forced the vessel's captain to take them close to the Indian shores. The captain was killed when the vessel reached Mumbai's coast.

Lakhvi is living at an undisclosed location after being released from jail on bail a year ago. The other six suspects are in Adiala Jail, Rawalpindi. The case has been going on in the country since the last six years.

The high speed interceptor boats deployed by the Indian Coast Guard for intercepting the Pakistani boat and capturing a dozen odd crew members, were built by Larsen and Toubro Limited at its Hazira shipyard.

L&T has already delivered 28 interceptor boats and these are put in operations by the ICG. Order for 54 interceptor boats was placed by ICG on the company.

The Pakistani boat along with 9 crew members was caught by ICG off the Gujarat coast on October 2nd.

“It was a proud moment for all of us at L & T to notice from the video clips shown on national TV channels that the high speed boats built by us are doing wonders and serving the National interests well. Once again our products built as national endeavour have brought laurels for our country by intercepting suspected Enemy’s boat,” said a source in L&T Shipbuilding.

Its considered as a big catch for India and comes close to the recent Uri terror attacks and the surgical attack on the terrorist launch pads across LOC.

“In the prevailing scenario, Coast Guard ship Samudra Pavak apprehended a Pakistani boat with nine crew members,” an official ICG statement said. “Preliminary information indicates the crew to be Pakistani fishermen. However, the boat and the crew members were being escorted to Porbandar for further joint investigation,” it added.

Reports said Further investigation is on and the apprehended Pakistanis will be quizzed at Porbandar.

L&T shipbuilding has been contracted to export of 12 high speed Patrol boats by Vietnam. The Vietnam boats are a varient of boats built for the ICG. Few of these would be built in India, while the balance would be built locally with technology, material package and hand holding by L&T.